Re: The wise men and their star

Peter's post is interesting, I hope it generates several interesting
comments. Let me add a point that I take from my colleague Mike Cosby, a
scholar of the Greek Bible who is finishing a book for the general public.
In Sunday School class a couple of years ago, he noted that the narratives
in Luke and Matthew contain no donkey and no inn. That's right, no inn. My
understanding, subject to correction from those who actually know the Greek,
is that the word rendered "inn" in most English translations of Luke 2:7 is
the same word used for the "upper room" in Luke 22:12. (Do I have this
right, or is it another verse? I am sure the basic point here is right.)
That is, Luke 2:7 should read, "no room for them in the spare room," not "in
the inn." On this view, Joseph and Mary were in Bethlehem b/c it was the
tiny village (perhaps a couple hundred people) that their families hailed
from; and the spare room (which most homes didn't have) would have been
given already to elder relatives. Or something like that.

When the Bible speaks about an "inn," such as in the story of the Samaritan
(why is he always the "good Samaritan," reflecting Jewish prejudices that
most Samaritans weren't good?), it is a different Greek word. Not a word
that has an overly positive meaning, I am told--Joseph wouldn't have wanted
to take Mary to an "inn," apparently, but a different word entirely and one
that is not found in Luke 2:7.

Ted
Received on Wed Jan 5 16:22:21 2005